I was really excited by the freekah flour, which I’d heard a lot about, but had never used. It smelt fragrant and nutty and had a lovely golden hue to it. I couldn’t wait to try it. I happened to have a Waitrose recipe card lying about for coconut lemon cupcakes which I was keen to adapt. This had caught my attention because it used coconut cream in the mix, something which appealed to me. Sadly, I didn’t have any coconut cream, but I did have a block of creamed coconut, so I thought I’d give that a try instead. I also decided to use coconut oil rather than margarine, which would make these cakes dairy free. Then I went and spoilt it with a creamy lemon curd topping 😉 If you want dairy free, use coconut cream instead.

I also added a little cardamom into the equation by using cardamom sugar and topping the cakes with Seed and Bean’s lemon and cardamom dark chocolate. To be honest it was a bit of an odd recipe and I adapted it so completely in terms of both quantities and ingredients, it bares little resemblance to the original.

The cakes were amongst some of the best I’ve made, they were oh so flavoursome, with zesty citrus notes and a background hit of coconut. They also had a great texture, being both light and moist. The zingy lemon curd cream was delicious in itself and the lemon cardamom chocolate enhanced everything – literally the icing on the cake.

mmmm lemon and coconut and the fresh fruit makes a huge difference. I bet the batter for these cakes had the MOST incredible aroma. They would have reminded me of my childhood and mum baking cakes. I think I would have eaten more batter than cakes!.. Lovely! x

Loving the combination of flavours here. That cardamom has snuck in again! Nice! I use a lot of coconut cream, but because it is difficult to get hold of, when I do see it, I always grab a few little cans to have at the ready!

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Hello, I’m Choclette. I’m a vegetarian whole food recipe developer. I have a sweet tooth and a passion for baking and chocolate. Welcome to my award winning blog. Here you will find nourishing home cooked food with a twist as well as wholesome foodie tales.